Last Summer of High School
by angeldemonpinkpup
Summary: The kids are enjoying their last Summer together before college when they attend an interesting intern fair starting the most intense summer yet! (Pairings will make themselves apparent later) Rated T for potential later chapter weirdness
1. Prologue: Retirement

I race through the trees in the park. I notice (not for the first time) that over eleven years my lungs aren't what they used to be. I stop by a tree, placing my paw over my chest to steady my breathing. I take a deep breath and look over my shoulder to find my arch nemesis tinkering with a new gadget. He's too busy concentrating to notice my arrival. I stride confidently forward, knowing full well that I'll fall into a trap. A whirring sound causes me to look to the left. Ropes spring up out of nowhere and somehow pin me to a nearby tree.

My nemesis turns around and looks at me with feigned shock.

"Perry the platypus how unexpected…and by unexpected of course I mean, completely expected!"

I leer at the gangly man in front of me. He's an evil scientist who for some reason dresses like a pharmacist. His head is abnormally shaped with a giant chin and tiny forehead. Messy brown hair matches his eyes and he has a thick German-esc accent. (It's really Gimbleshtump, but who cares?)

He smirks "Do you like my new machine? It's called the fog-inator! What does it do, you ask?"

_I don't._

"Well I'll tell you!"

I roll my eyes but he doesn't notice.

"You see as a young lad in Gimbleshtump…"

_Here we go..!_

"…fog was naturally feared by everyone! When fog rolled in, chaos ensued and a brave man would step forward to proclaim temporary leadership. Well with this inator I will create a fog so thick that it cannot be removed and this fog will encompass the entire…Tri-State-Area! Ahahahahahaha! Then, when I step forward I, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirts, will become supreme leader!"

I groan inwardly. _These schemes get more and more ridiculous by the day! _

"And don't give me the 'America doesn't work that way' Perry the platypus! I know this is going to work!"

_Not if I can help it!_

I manage to wriggle my paw free from the rope and reach into my hat. I pull out my handy pocket knife and slowly cut through the trap. Doof is so occupied with working the Fog-inator, he doesn't see me escape. I take a moment to catch my breath again.

_These traps didn't used to leave me so winded! _

I shake off the feeling of unease and sneak up on Dr. D. I jump up and place a well-timed kick to his back. He yelps and collapses. His arm comes down and activates the Fog-inator. I reach for the inator but a random gust of wind picks the machine up and it flies away. I look up to see my boys Phineas and Ferb flying a gigantic dragon-shaped rocket. I pull out my grappling hook and aim it at the machine.

When I get into the air I hear a faint "Curse you Perry the..!"

I ignore the cry and race toward the top of the Fog-inator to turn it off when I hear Phineas' voice.

"Where'd all this fog come from, Ferb? I was sure the weatherman said it would be sunny."

I don't hear a response but I'm sure Ferb probably shrugged or made some gesture of acknowledgement.

I fight the wind and make it to the inator's switch. I pull the lever up and watch as the fog slowly rolls away.

"Oh that's better!" Phineas cries in delight.

I push the inator off the dragon and watch it explode in midair. Then I rush to the compartment holding the boys and their friends. I take off my fedora and plop down next to Baljeet.

Phineas turns around to smile at me. "Oh there you are, Perry!"

I chatter back though I can still feel the strain of my latest mission. _Maybe I'm just catching a cold…yeah that's it! _

That night, I lay peacefully asleep on Ferb's bed. Just as I get up to join Phineas for the remainder of the night, my communicator goes off.

_Thank goodness Ferb took Candace's room when she moved out! _I stand on my hind paws in the middle of the hall and look at my watch.

Monty Monogram's face appears on the screen. It still takes me by surprise. Major Monogram retired a few years ago to spend some time with his wife and his son Monty had taken over the branch.

I chatter and salute. Monty nods and motions that he has something important to say and we need to speak privately. (When he took over, we adapted a non-verbal form of communicating when people are around or asleep.) I nod and head for the nearest chute. When I get down to the lair, I head for my red chair.

Monty looks down at me from the giant monitor. "Hey Agent P, I'm sorry for such a late call but this is important."

He looks slightly embarrassed and lets out a sigh. "Agent P as you know tomorrow is the second day of summer for your humans."

I nod, not sure where he's going with this.

"There's a fair going on tomorrow for potential interns that we discovered they are planning on attending. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal but…our intelligence has discovered that Dr. Doofenshmirts is planning on setting up a booth there."

My eyes widen. _What is he implying? _I give him a level stare.

"Now we don't expect any of your boys or their friends to join him of course! You see…we've decided that it might be a good idea if…we try to recruit them ourselves!"

My jaw drops. As much as I'd love to work with my boys, I still remember how hurt and pissed Phineas was when he found out last time.

"I realize your concerns, which is why…" He bit his lip, obviously not happy about what he was going to say. "…we think it'd be best if…if you…retire, Agent P."

I stare up at him and I can tell he can see the hurt in my eyes.

"I swear Agent P, I wish it didn't have to be this way! And because it may be too painful…we've arranged for you to have a nice retirement home in…Australia…"

I frown. _So you're basically firing me AND you're making me leave my family! _I cross my arms and snarl.

"Come on Agent P, don't be like that! It won't be so bad! Besides…Penelope will be there!" He raises his eyebrow suggestively.

Penelope. The name makes me sigh. She's an Australian platypus I had teamed up with once to stop Dr. D and her nemesis, Dr. A. She's the most beautiful creature to walk the earth! She has periwinkle fur with curls adorning her head. Her brown eyes sparkle like stars and she looks amazing in her white fedora.

I admit. Retiring with her would be a dream come true, but…my boys. I'd miss them dearly. I sigh as I pull out my locket with a picture of me and the boys when we first met. I also reach into my hat to pull a perfectly preserved white flower. I had given it to Penelope when I first saw her. After our mission she gave it back along with a peck on the cheek to remember her by.

I look back and forth and then I think back to my mission from earlier today. _It's not a cold…I'm getting too old for this… _I think sadly. As a twelve-year old platypus, I'm about middle-aged and getting older.

I think about my boys. All these years and no one's been hurt yet. _They're really smart and they would be good here…_

I sigh and nod my head in resignation. Much as I hate to admit it, they don't need me anymore and honestly I do deserve a rest.

Monty gives me a sad smile, "I really am sorry Perry."

I start for a moment, unaccustomed to him calling me that.

"I promise if anything bad should happen, you'll be the first to know." He assures me.

I nod and cast him a grateful smile.

"Spend this last night with them Perry, your plane will leave tomorrow around 10AM while they're at the fair."

I grimace. This is all happening so fast. I walk back out of the lair, taking my fedora with me. It surprises me that Monty doesn't stop me, but perhaps he wants me to keep it. _I hope so,' cause I'm taking it! _I think scornfully.

I reach Phineas' room and place my fedora carefully in the back of his messy closet (he won't notice it by the time I leave.) I make my way to his bed and watch him sleep for a moment before pulling myself up and lying beside him. I try to sleep though I know I won't be able to and spend the rest of the night silently crying.


	2. Intern Fair (Ferb)

**Author's note: I decided I needed to redo this chapter. It was bugging me. I guess I'm not very good at present-tense so no more of that. Also, I prefer different character POVs to Third-person..very sorry for those of you who had to suffer the embarrassment that was the previously written chapter two. Oh and if you're wondering what happened to Phineas you won't have to wait long ;D**

(Ferb's POV):

I awoke to the sound of my step-brother Phineas shouting excitedly.

"Wake up Ferb. Wake up! Do you realize what today is?"

"Well I-"

"Today's the day we go to the Intern Fair! Are you as excited as I am?"

_I just woke up…_

"Yeah, I know you are!" Phineas turned to look out my window and continue to ramble while I checked my clock.

_7AM? Phineas the fair isn't open until 9! _I looked up at my brother who hasn't noticed my death-stare and continued chatting.

_Well I guess I'm not getting anymore sleep…might as well eat breakfast._

I stood up and made my way to my brother's side. I gently grabbed Phineas' arm and dragged him downstairs to the kitchen where our mom was making waffles. _Mmm, waffles! _

"Morning boys!" she called in a chipper voice.

I nodded as Phineas called out. "Morning Mom! Now as I was saying…"

I sigh and reached for a plate with some waffles, syrup and fruit. I sat down at the table and stuffed my mouth while Phineas ranted.

"There are gonna be a ton of companies there! I wonder if they'll have a booth that focuses on science or math or art or…"

"Good morning Phineas! Hey Ferb!" A familiar feminine voice called out sweetly.

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro glided delicately into our kitchen in her cute purple pajamas with pink hearts. _Wait, cute? Oh no…_ She has been our neighbor and friend since kindergarten _and she's had a crush on Phineas basically since then as well_. I sighed. _A shame he doesn't know…_ I smiled and waved in her direction before returning to my meal. Sudden shame enveloped me. _I shouldn't be thinking that way about my brother or the girl who has a massive crush on him!_

"Oh hey Isabella!" Phineas smiled and then turned away to grab some cereal. No matter what Mum makes, Phineas prefers cereal in the morning. "There's no better way to start the day!" He'd say in defense.

Isabella grabbed a plate and piled on some waffles for herself. Mum made room for her in the kitchen, so used to her presence she says nothing. Isabella then made her way to the table to sit next to Phineas.

"You excited about the Intern fair, Phineas?" She chirped a little too excitedly.

I groaned inwardly, _when will she get it? Phineas isn't the romantic type… Oh well… _I looked up, certain that this will end with heartbreak on her part. _Poor Isa if only there were something I could do…I suppose a good smack in the face followed by an "Are you daft?! She's in LOVE with you!" wouldn't be appropriate. _

"Yeah! It's gonna be so much fun! Me and Ferb have been looking forward to it all year, haven't we Ferb?" He looked over at me attentively for about five seconds. He smiled and turned back to Isabella. "I wonder what companies will be there...I'd like to look for an engineering company, what about you Isabella?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe…"

"Ooh! Ooh maybe you could join me and Ferb at an engineering company! You and the old Fireside girls were always good at building stuff with us!"

_Except I don't want to go to an engineering company…and from the look on Isa's face, I'd say she doesn't either. _

I sighed. I couldn't really say anything though. _What most people don't know is that of the two of us, Phineas is the more insecure. He just covers up his anxieties with his chatter and naivety. He's going to find out someday that we can't always be together but…bringing it up over breakfast just seems so…cruel. _

I glanced over my shoulder to see a small blue creature stumble into the room. I looked to the animal and felt some sort of sixth sense tug at my brain, willing Phineas to look at the creature as well. Sure enough, he did.

"Perry? What's wrong boy?" Phineas rushed to the floor and scooped up the semi-aquatic mammal. "He looks so sad!"

"Oh he's probably gonna miss you boys while you're out today." Mum piped up hopefully. It was highly unlikely but I knew she was just trying to protect her more fragile son.

"Yeah…" Phineas didn't seem to buy it for a moment. "Yeah, you're probably right!" He grinned enthusiastically. "Don't worry Perry, we'll see you later!"

_One crisis averted…good job, Mum! _

The critter chattered but he sounded… upset, for a platypus. I shrugged, _maybe he's sick. We'll have to take him to the vet if he doesn't get better. _

Later that day…

I walked slightly behind my brother. Isabella looked around with wide eyes and a large grin, taking everything in. She had changed out of her pajamas and wore a short-sleeved purple shirt with white shorts. Behind her, Buford and Baljeet walked side by side. Buford wore a dark blue t-shirt with a skeleton on it. A silver chain hung off his baggy grey-blue jeans and a white beanie adorned his head. Baljeet donned a plain white t-shirt with a shiny dark blue vest over it and skinny jeans. Buford looked bored _as always_ and Baljeet chatted with Phineas about the programs.

A strangely plain booth caught my attention. There were no flyers, just a white banner. Written across the top was "O.W.C.A." in army green. Behind the booth stood a young man with shaggy brown hair. He wasn't wearing anything special, just a faded grey sweatshirt with plain blue jeans. His blue eyes caught mine and held me there. For a moment I felt as if he were beckoning me. _Intriguing…I'm not sure why, but I want to know what that's all about. _

I tapped Phineas' shoulder and nodded in the direction of the booth. Phineas' eyes followed the path and he squinted. I could tell he was not impressed. "You want to go there?" He asked incredulously. I shrugged but I knew that Phineas knew I had meant "yes."

"I don't know…"

"I think it looks interesting," piped up an unexpected voice. I looked at Isabella in surprise, certain she'd never go against Phineas' judgment. _Odd…_

And apparently Phineas thought it odd too, "you do?"

Isabella nodded, "looks mysterious…don't you like mysteries Phineas?"

"Well I…" He scrunched his nose. He seemed abnormally upset. I tried to read his expression but he just turned away.

"Why do we not just ask what it is about?" Baljeet added.

Phineas could see he was increasingly outnumbered. He turned to Buford in desperation, "what do you think?"

Buford shrugged, "I don't care. The only reason I'm here is 'cause my ma thought it'd be a good idea…plus, if I get stuck anywhere I want someone to pick on." He stared at Baljeet suggestively who merely shrugged.

_So basically, anywhere Baljeet goes, Buford does too._

I always figured that was a give in. Those two never went anywhere without the other. _You might as well ask for a plain jelly sandwich._

Phineas sighed. He understood what that meant as well. "Fine. We'll go and ask but don't get mad at me when you discover it's nothing special."

I lead the way to the booth and stood aside to let Baljeet ask as Phineas stood back and pouted.

"Excuse me sir? What does…O.W.C.A stand for?"

"Well it stands for the Organization Without a Cool Acronym."

"Oh…uhm.."

"'Organization Without a Cool Acronym'? What kind of name is that?" Phineas muttered dryly.

I looked over at my brother in surprise. Phineas wasn't normally this snappy. I rose my eyebrows questioningly _what's up with you?_ Phineas sighed.

"So what exactly do you guys do?" He asked loudly to appease me.

The man stared levelly at him before answering. "We typically solve crimes" he said, matter-of-factly.

"That sounds fun!" Isabella smiled, "what do you think Phineas?"

"I like a mystery as much as the next guy but I was really hoping to get into engineering."

"Why?" Baljeet asked, "You make stuff all the time. You are basically an expert already…we all are."

"Yeah I like building stuff too Dinner-bell but…this seems kinda'…interestin." Buford added. Baljeet smiled up at his bully who lookd away quickly and snarled.

Phineas turned to me, "you're with me, right?"

I sighed inwardly,_ may as well tell him now_. I motioned to a small secluded area of trees.

Phineas nodded, "We'll be right back guys." He assured the others, before he followed me to the specified area.

I turned to my brother and blinked.

Phineas' jaw dropped. "B-but we-we promised! We always spend summer together and we said this year we'd become interns together!"

"Phineas…" I sighed. "I'm just not interested in the engineering internship."

"I thought…"

I blinked again and looked away.

"Well…" Phineas thought it over for a moment. "… I don't want to…without you." He said in a small voice only I had ever heard.

I placed a hand on my brother's shoulder. I gave him a look that said, _I know. Hey these internships are only part-time. We can still hang out in the afternoon and tell eachother about our days. It'll be like we're together all the time. Besides, it could be fun…_

"I-I guess…" Phineas hung his head unhappily. "We'll still be best friends though right?"

If Phineas didn't look seriously depressed, I might have laughed at such a silly question. Instead, I smiled and hugged Phineas. "Of course we will."

Phineas grinned. "I'm gonna miss you bro but I hope you have fun ok? I'll see you at dinner, there was a booth I saw a few rows back I want to check out!"

I smiled, "great, see you then!" I watched as my brother ran off. _Maybe this summer he'll learn that it's ok for us to split up every once in awhile. _

I slowly rejoined the group at the booth. The man looked at me. "Where did your brother go?"

I shrugged and nodded toward the other booths. "Some booth a few rows over. I'm afraid he won't be joining us."

"That's too bad…" the man seemed unreasonably upset for a moment then he looked up and smiled. "Oh well, we'll have a lot of fun this summer! Now follow me."

The man pulled up the white tablecloth and revealed a secret door underneath.

"Woah!"

"Cool!"

"Oh, wow!"

The man looked back and grinned. "This way please! And if you don't mind can one of you grab the banner? We can leave the table here for now."

I nodded and grabbed the banner. _I wonder what crazy adventures await us this summer. _I thought to myself as I followed my friends.

Meanwhile a pair of sad brown eyes watched from afar as the man and his family descended into the ground. Slight curiosity as to where Phineas was nagged at the back of the semi-aquatic mammal's mind as he turned around and headed for the airport…


	3. Intern Fair Redux (Phineas)

**Author's note: I'm very sorry for the wait but for some reason, I had a hard time writing this...it's kinda short and I may redo it but I hope to get to the rest of it more quickly now that this part is up so enjoy and...stay tuned for the next part! ;) **

Phineas' POV:

I pulled away from my hug with Ferb and we both promised to meet for dinner. I then raced away towards the front entrance where I had seen that booth earlier. I passed by several art and science booths. At one point I even saw Django. I smiled and waved and he smiled back.

I continued my search. Eventually, I felt as though I had looked down each isle to no avail. I sighed and decided to head back toward the plain booth where I had seen Ferb and our friends. I made my way back to find an empty table. _What the-? Where did they go? It couldn't just disappear…could it? _

I tried to fight the slowly rising panic. _Calm down, Phineas! I'm sure my brother and friends are just fine!_ _I probably just got disoriented, that's all! _I took a deep, calming breath and looked around. A man in a security jacket stood about two feet away. Immensely happy, I soon found myself running towards the guy. _Whoa! Slow down, big guy! You don't want to give him a reason to lock you up! _I slid to a halt and resumed with a calmer pace.

As I neared him, the security man noticed me and offered a kind smile. "You liking the fair so far, kid?

I nodded. "Yeah, it's great! Uh…I've got a quick question. Could you please direct me toward the East entrance?"

"Sure thing, follow me!" The man turned to his left and started walking at a brisk pace.

"Great! Thanks!" My long legs made it easy for me to keep up with him.

About four minutes later, we had maneuvered ourselves through the crowd. I found myself at the nearest entrance to my house where I had started at 9AM. I looked next to me to thank the guard but he had vanished. _Probably went to see to the other fair visitors. I'll thank him later. _

I scanned the booths in excitement. I soon found the booth I was looking for. It was hard to miss with a giant purple top, many balloons, and a giant banner. It read Engineering Vocational Internship Locale INC. As an acronym, it spelled out E.V.I.L. but I was sure it was just a coincidence. _It has engineering in the name...this is the booth I've been looking for! _

My enthusiasm restored, I made a beeline for the admittedly over-zealous booth. There, I met a man. He was tall and lanky, like me. His dusky brown hair matched his eyes. When he spoke, his high pitched voice held a German-esc accent.

"Hello there! I see you've noticed my booth."

"How could I not? It's so in your face!"

"I know right?! Unfortunately, it hasn't been drawing the attention I was hoping for…in fact, you're the only person I've seen all day."

"Really? That's a shame! You'd think more people would take an interest in engineering!"

"I know! I can't believe it! I mean think of all the great-wait a second! Are…are you interested in becoming my intern?"

"Well sure!"

"Great! Just one question, do you have a background in engineering?"

"Actually… yes, yes I do!" I exclaimed proudly. "My brother and I used to build our own inventions all the time."

The man's eyes went wide. "You mean you're an inventor too?!"

"Well…" I stated nervously rubbing the back of my neck with my hand. "…I don't like to brag but yeah, I've tinkered with inventing a few times."

The man grabbed my hand and started shaking it enthusiastically. "Welcome aboard!"

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah! Let me just pack up and we'll head over to my headquarters and I'll give you the grand tour!"

"Awesome!" I noticed the man struggle to carry some of his gear. "Would you like some help with that?"

"Oh sure, thank you! Could you just grab those blueprints back there?"

"BLUEPRINTS?!" I shouted. Before the man could answer, I raced underneath the purple top. What I found nearly sent me to cloud nine. Blueprints…blueprints everywhere. _And I thought I had too many blueprints stashed in my room and in my computer files. _

As quickly as I could, I grabbed as many blueprints as I could carry. I raced out of the booth cover with a giant grin on my face.

The man gave me a knowing smile. "You like blueprints, huh?"

"Oooh you have no idea!"

The man lightly shook his head and led me to his truck.

After we had packed everything in, he drove me to a vaguely familiar building near downtown Danville. It was tall, purple and slightly resembled Ferb's head. I must have past it a few times without noticing it in the past.

We rode the elevator up to the top floor and entered a door labeled "Dr. Doofenshmirtz."

I indicated the door, "is that your name?"

"Yep! It's pronounced, 'Doof-in-shmurts,' but if you can't say that you can call me Dr. D."

"Cool! My name is Phineas Flynn, but you can just call me Phineas."

"Ok Phineas welcome to my lair!"

I took a good look around. The place was modestly furnished with a few comfy chairs and a green rug. The grey walls held purple accents and beyond that, not much else seemed homey. However, there were power generators and crazy looking machines everywhere. The awesomeness of it all made me miss what Dr. D had said, until it caught up with me.

"'Lair?'" I asked. "That sounds a bit…well, evil actually."

"I am evil." Dr D stated matter-of-factly.

I stared back at him, shocked. It hadn't occurred to me that the acronym had been intentional.

"You seem surprised." The evil scientist observed. "I had thought my sign and fliers were efficient to prove it."

"Oh! Well uh…you see, I'm…"

"Not evil?" Dr D finished for me, though he seemed deflated, he offered a weak smile.

I nodded. "Look, you're really cool and all but I can't…I mean…"

Dr. D held up one hand. "Don't mention it."

I turned to go when Dr. D called me back. I hesitantly made my way back to him and he handed me a card. "If you ever change your mind…just call."

I smiled. "Sure thing, Dr. D!" I stuffed the card into my wallet with every intention of throwing it out as soon as I got home.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz' POV:

I watched as Phineas Flynn exited my apartment/lair. In any normal circumstance, I might've begged him to stay or if need be, turn my Turn-Everything-Evil-Inator on him. Something deep inside however, told me that this kid was special. "He'll come back." I told myself. I made my way to my plan-making station to come up with a new evil scheme for the time being. _I don't know why and I don't know when but he'll come back… _


End file.
